LPL Financial LLC Has $13.31 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. by 14.5%, selling 32,788 shares and bringing their total stake to 193,593 shares worth approximately $13.31 million.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their stakes in Ventas, with Northern Trust Corp notably growing its ownership by 60.8% in the last quarter.
• Despite recent fluctuations, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $72.90, following mixed ratings from various analysts.

LPL Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,788 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $13,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $361,184,000 after acquiring an additional 335,192 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ventas by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Ventas by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,463,551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $262,859,000 after purchasing an additional 509,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Ventas by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,318,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $254,307,000 after acquiring an additional 386,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $68.74 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $64.60 and its 200-day moving average is $65.30. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.68 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $31.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Ventas's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 446.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. This represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 378,391 shares of company stock valued at $24,809,760. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Profile

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.

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